Bottle stopper construction



NOV. 21, 1961 A, Hh ANSON BOTTLE STOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 29, 1960 INVENTOR. ARTHUR H- HNSON Q TTORll/Ey Patented Nov. 21, v1961 3,009,594 BOTTLE STOPPER 'CONSTRUCTION Arthur H. Anson, 805 N. 26th St., Allentown, Pa. Filed Mar. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 18,419 9 Claims. {CL 21S-48) This invention relates generally to bottle Stoppers, and more particularly relates to a novel two-part bottle stopper assembly which may be used in the manner of an ordinary stopper or a cork, or optionally may be utilized to support an inflated balloon secured to the assembly by means `of the novel construction of the stopper to provide a humorous or decorative effect.

Briefly, the novel stopper assembly includes a main portion similar in external appearance to ordinary corks but having a central aperture bored therethrough into which is removably fitted a closure plug. The plug may be inserted into the main portion either from the top or the bottom for use as an ordinary stopper, or the plug may be used as a retaining element to secure an inflated balloon to the main portion of the stopper, simultaneously, of course, also performing its function of a closure plug. Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel two-part bottle stopper assembly which may be used either in the manner of an ordinary cork or which may be employed in conjunction with an inflated balloon to provide a novel and decorative appearance for a bottle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel two-part bottle stopper assembly comprising a main portion for engaging the inside surface of the neck of the bottle and a closure plug portion removably securable to the main portion and which when so secured renders the entire assembly effective as a bottle stopper.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l illustrates in a partially sectioned perspective View the novel `two-part bottle stopper assembly according to the invention, illustrating the closure plug portion inserted within the main part of the bottle stopper for use as an ordinary bottle capping device;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded View of the two-part assembly illustrated in FIGURE l with the closure plug shown in side elevation and the main portion of the stopper shown in vertical section;

FIGURE 3 is a reduced size perspective view illustrating the stopper assembly of FIGURE l inserted into the neck of a bottle;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View similar to that' of FIGURE 3 but illustrating the stopper assembly in conjunction with an inllated balloon to provide a novelty effect;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View illustrating one method of securing the balloon of FIP- URE 4 within the novel stopper assembly, and shows the relationships amongst the stopper parts, the bottle neck, and the balloon;

FIGURE 6 is similar to FIGURE 5 but illustrates an alternative method of securing a balloon to the novel bottle stopper assembly.

In the several figures, like elements are denoted by like reference characters.

Referring ilrst to FIGURES l and 2, it is observed that two-part bottle stopper assembly 10 includes a frustoconical main part 111 and a closure plug 12. The frustoconical rnain part .11 has an axially tapered outer surface 13 adapted for wedging disposition into the neck of the bottle in the usual manner, and is annularly grooved as at 14 completely circumierentially around the lower or narrower end of the main stopper part. The annular groove 14 is provided to accommodate a securingtie string or twist wire to hold a balloon in place in the manner illustrated in the showing of FIGURE 5, to be subsequently described. n

As is usual, the main stopper part 11 has a pair of parallel top and bottom end surfaces 15 and 16 respectivell, but differs from the ordinary bottle stopper in that it includes a central bore extending entirely through the stopper from top to bottom, which bore has a centrally apertured upper section 17 and a lower section 1S. The centrally apertured upper section 17 is defined by an axially tapered surface 19, of largest cross-sectional diameter at the top of the main stopper part and decreasing Y uniformly in cross-sectional area as it extends downwardly toward the bottom of the main stopper part. The lower centrally apertured section 18 is similarly defined by an axially tapered surface 20, but this tapered Vsurface 20 is of reverse sense, that is, lthe major cross-sectional area of the lower central apertfured section 18 occurs at the bottom of the main stopper part in the plane of the stopper bottom surface 16 and gradually decreases in crosssectional area as it extends upwardly to its point of termination at the shoulder 21 which defines the plane of intersection of the upper and lower central apertures 17 and 1S. The axially tapered surfaces 19 and 20 are tapered at the same rate and the major cross-sectional area of each of these tapered surfaces, namelythe cross-sectional areas lying the planes of the top and bottom main stopper part end surfaces 15 and 16, is identical to the other.

The closure plug 12 includes an upper cap portion 22 having an annular flat undersurface 25, a truste-conical shank 23 having an annular lower end ksurface 26, and a tapered stem 24, the tapered stem 24 extending downward from the undersurface of the shank 23 while the latter in turn extends downwardly from the cap portion lundersurface 25. The taper rate of the shank 23 is the same as the taper rate or the axially tapered surfaces 19 and 20 which dene the central apertures 17 and 18 in the main stopper part 11, and the length of the shank 23 is the same as the vertical `extent of the lower central aperture 18 in the main stopper part 11. Consequently, the closure plug 12 may be perfectly mated with the central apertures of the main stopper part 11 by projecting it either downward from the top so that the cap 22vseats upon the top surface 15 of the main stopper part, or alternatively, the closure plug 12 may be projected into the` main stopper part 11 from the bottom thereof in which case the cap 22 will seat upon the bottom surface 16 of the main stopper part 11 while at the same time the shank 23 lower end surface 26 will seat upon the shoulder 21 detining the intersection of the central apertures 17 and 18.

The top seating arrangement of the closure plug 12 in the main stopper part 11 is most clearly illustrated inv the Showing of FIGURE l, whereas the bottom seating arrangement of the closure plug in the main stopper part is most clearly illustrated in the showing of FIGURE 6. While the shank 23 of the closure plug 12 has been described as being of a size and shape to perfectlyy seat within the central apertures 1.7 and 18 of the main stopper part 11, it is to be understood that it is intended to include within those definitions the case where the shank is ever so slightly larger than these apertures in order that a slight amount-of force may be required to insert the closure plug into such apertures so that a frictional t will result and the closure plug 12 will have no tendency to drop out.

Refer now to FIGURE 5 which illustrates one manner of securing an inflated balloon, such as 28 illustrated in the showing of FIGURE 4 to the stopper assembly so that the balloon is held securely in place and in its inlated condition. In this ligure, it will be observed that the neck 29 of the balloon 28 has been inserted downward from the top through the aperture in the main stopper part 1'1 and turned back upwardly about the lower cnd of the main stopper part 11 so that it extends upwardly along the axially tapered outer surface 13 thereof to a level above the external annular groove 14, and the closure plug 12 has been inserted into the lower central aperture 18 to securely clamp the balloon neck between the shank 23 of the plug 12 and the body of the main stopper part 11.

The balloon 28 may be irst inated before having its neck projected downward through the main stopper part 11, or, the balloon neck 29 may be first projected down through the main stopper part 11 before inating the balloon 2S, this latter procedure being considered the easier one. After the balloon 28 has been iniated and the closure plug 12 seated within the lower central aperture 18 of the main stopper part 11 to secure the balloon 28 and prevent air leakage from the latter which would in time tend to allow the balloon to deflate, a string may be tied around the turned back portion of the balloon neck 29 so that the string is disposed within the annular groove 14 to securely clamp the balloon neck therewithin. The assembled stopper assembly is then inserted into the neck 27 of a bottle in the ordinary fashion.

FIGURE 6 illustrates an alternative `method of securing a balloon such as 28' to the bottle stopper assembly. In this showing, it is seen that the neck 29 of the balloon 28 has been wrapped several times about the tapered stem 24 of the closure plug 12 and then tied securely thereto by means of the string 30. This may be carried out by first inflating the balloon 28' and then projecting the neck 29 downward through the main stopper part 111, thereafter performing a wrapping and tieing operation and projecting the closure plug 12 upwardly for seating engagement within the lower central aperture 1S. Alternatively, the uninflated balloon may first have its neck 29 projected downward through the main stopper part 11 to be subsequently inflated, wrapped and tied as shown.

Although two methods of securing a balloon to the novel two-part bottle stopper assembly have been shown and described in connection with the illustration of FIG- URES and 6, such by no means includes all possible ways of so securing a balloon. For example, referring to FIGURE 2, it is evident that the closure plug 12 could be projected cap-first upward into the neck of an inflated balloon so that the balloon neck would extend downward to a point somewhat below the undersurface 26 of the shank 23, and the balloon and plug could then be inserted downwardly into the upper central aperture 17 of the main stopper part 11. Also, prior to insertion of the closure plug 12 into the main stopper part 11, the balloon neck could be tied by means of a string about the tapered stem 24 at a point immediately below the shank 23 to aid in preventing the balloon from tending to disengage itself from the closure plug 12. Moreover, although the balloons 28 and 28' illustrated in the figures are seen to be decorated with novelty designs of a humorous nature, other forms of design could just as readily be employed, as for example denoting the contents of the bottle which is being stoppered.

Although my invention has been described in connection with a particularly illustrated embodiment thereof, various modifications and variations will now occur to those persons normally skilled in the art without departing from the essential scope or spirit of my invention, and accordingly it is intended to claim the same broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

l. A two-part bottle stopper assembly comprising, a frusto-conical main part having an axially tapered outer surface adapted for removable insertion small-end first into the neck of a bottle to seal the inside periphery of a bottle neck against the outward flow of the bottle contents, said stopper main part being bored to provide an aperture extending completely therethrough from top to bottom thereof, and a closure plug removably projectable into either end of the stopper main part aperture to close the latter and prevent the outward ow of the contents of a bottle through said aperture, said bored stopper main part being coaxially bored from the top and bottom so that the bore walls are axially tapered at the same rate to provide upper and lower coaxial bores of congruent largest cross-section at the top and bottom surfaces of said stopper main part,v and said closure plug including a shank portion complementally formed for mating disposition within said bores.

2. The stopper assembly according to claim l wherein said lower bore is of lesser axial extent than said upper bore and terminates within said stopper main part at a shoulder which defines the plane of terminating intersection of said upper and lower bores, and the shank portion of said closure plug is of the same axial length as the lower bore of said stopper main part, whereby when said closure plug is inserted into said lower bore said shank portion seats against said internal shoulder.

3. The stopper assembly according to claim l wherein said upper and lower stopper main part bores and said closure plug shank portion are all of circular crosssection.

4. The stopper assembly according to claim 1 wherein said closure plug includes a flat-bottomed cap portion directly surmounting said shank portion at the end of maximum cross-section of the latter, said cap at bottom extending circumferentially radially outward beyond said shank portion, whereby when said shank portion is disposed within one of said bores said cap portion flat bottom seats ush upon the stopper main part exterior surface communicating with said bore.

5. The stopper assembly according to claim 2 wherein said closure plug includes a Hat-bottomed cap portion directly surmounting said shank portion at the end of maximum cross-section of the latter, said cap flat bottom extending circumferentially radially outward beyond said shank portion, whereby when said shank portion is disposed within one of said bores said cap portion at bottom seats ush upon the stopper main part exterior surface communicating with said bore.

6. The stopper assembly according to claim 5 wherein said closure cap further includes a stem portion coaxially extending from said shank portion end opposite that surmounted by said cap portion, said stem having a maximum cross-sectional area less than the minimum crosssectional area of said upper bore.

7. The stopper assembly according to claim 5 wherein the axially tapered outer surface of said stopper main part is annularly circumferentially grooved proximate the lower end thereof.

8. A bottom stopper assembly comprising, a frustoconical main part having an axially tapered outer surface adapted for removable insertion small-end-tirst into the neck of a bottle to seal the inside periphery of a bottle neck against the outward flow of the bottle contents, said stopper main part being bored to provide an aperture extending completely therethrough from top to bottom thereof, a closure plug removably projectable into either end of the stopper main part aperture to close the latter and prevent the outward ow of the contents of a bottle through said aperture, and an inflatable balloon the neck of which is projectable into said aperture and securable therewithin by means of said closure plug, said bored stopper main part being coaxially bored from the top and bottom so that the bore walls are axially tapered at the same rate to provide upper and lower coaxial bores of congruent largest cross-section at the top and bottom surfaces of said stopper main part, and said closure plug including a shank portion complementally formed for mating disposition within said bores, said balloon neck being projectable into said upper bore and out of said lower bore, and said closure plug shank pornon being projectable into said balloon neck and mated into said lower bore to thereby clamp said balloon neck completely circumferentially between the walls of said lower bore and said shank portion, whereby said balloon is secured to said stopper and escape of air from said balloon is prevented.

9. The stopper assembly according to claim 8 wherein the axially tapered outer surface of said stopper main part is annularly circumferential-ly grooved proximate the lower end thereof, and wherein the end of said balloon neck is turned back up over the axially tapered outer surface of said stopper main part to a point above said annular circumferential groove, whereby said balloon may be further secured to said stopper by tie means disposable about said back-turned balloon neck for clamping the same into the said groove.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

